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DMN: I see. Are you going to be shipping this chip in volume in August? Will you be fully into production by August?
Rubinstein: Yes. Fully into production in August. At least that's the plan, you know. My problem always is whenever we build one of these really successful products is we get more orders than we can build systems.
DMN: You know, I noticed that on your Web site you're already offering it in the store there.
Rubinstein: We are taking orders, so if you want one, get your order in today. [Laughs]
DMN: I really do want one, I'll tell you that. Would we be able to get one to evaluate any time soon, or do we have to wait until August?
Rubinstein: You'll have to wait until August. Sorry.
DMN: So you're not letting the press take a sneak peek in advance, then, right?
Rubinstein: Nope.
DMN: OK. I noticed that your store was kind of hard to get into this afternoon -- I'm sure there were a lot of people rooting around in there, looking at the different options and everything.
Rubinstein: Absolutely.
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DMN: You were saying the prices start at $1999?
Rubinstein: $1999 for the entry config, which is the 1.6 gig machine. $2399 for the 1.8 gig machine, and then $2999, there, you upgrade your graphics, you get dual 2GHz, and half a gig of memory.
DMN: What else can you tell me that the readers might be interested in?
Rubinstein: The system is a completely newly designed machine from the ground up. We designed a new enclosure, which is the first of a new generation. The old one had kind of run out of steam. This is designed specifically for this product. It has four independent cooled zones, and nine different fans. The fans are all computer-controlled. The idea was to bring this kind of power and capability, but have the product be much quieter. At room temperature, normal usage, the machine runs at about 35dBA, which is over twice as quiet as the G4. We got some strong feedback that people like quiet machines, so we designed around that. The I/O bandwidth on the machine with the PCI-X slot -- it's the first time having PCI-X on the desktop, and we support the full power of the AGP 8x Pro slot as well. So if someone wants to put really high-end graphics in, they can. This is a real workhorse machine. If you compare with high-end UNIX workstations which cost two to three times more, it's a better machine than they are.
DMN: Does Apple have an excess inventory of G4s, and do you thinking you'll be able to ship those out now that you've made this tremendous announcement today?
Rubinstein: [Asks someone, "Did we post today the press release on the G4 stuff?" Answer off-mic -- "No"]
DMN: Is there going to be a fire sale?
Rubinstein: No, no. It's not a fire sale. There are still customers for the G4.
DMN: Do you see a different customer base going for this new computer? Do you think some people will stick with the G4, and will you continue to offer the G4 when you offer G5s in August?
Rubinstein: We are offering a config, we're continuing on with a low-end config of the G4. That will be press-released sometime soon, I don't know when. It may have been already. But keep your eyes out for that. But yes, we are keeping a low-end config of the G4 in the product line.
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